October 28, 2004
Mario Power Tennis, is a sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. The game is the sequel to the Nintendo 64 title Mario Tennis, and is the fourth game in the Mario Tennis series. Power Tennis was released for the GameCube in Japan and North America in late 2004, and in PAL regions in early 2005. The game was ported for the Wii in 2009 as part of the New Play Control! series, and was also re-released as a Nintendo Selects title in 2012. A companion handheld game, Mario Tennis: Power Tour, was also released on Game Boy Advance around the same time as the original GameCube release, bearing the same title as Power Tennis in Europe.
Power Tennis incorporates multiple characters, themes, and locations from the Mario series. The game includes standard tennis matches, but contains variants that feature different scoring formats and objectives. Other variants include "Gimmick" courts, thematic areas with components and properties that directly affect gameplay. The game has 18 playable characters, each categorised by their style of play and each with a pair of unique moves known as "Power Shots". Power Tennis was developed simultaneously with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, and the pair shared similar technology and concepts with each other during production. Such similarities include an emphasis on the Mario theme in characters and settings as well as alternative game modes such as "Ring Shot".
The GameCube version was positively received in general, attaining an aggregate score of 81 percent from GameRankings and 80 out of 100 from Metacritic. Critics praised the game's depth and variety, but criticised the Power Shot animations, which could not be skipped. The Wii version in contrast received a more mixed reaction, with praise for the graphics and multiplayer but criticism for its motion controls. In 2010, it was included as one of the games in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.
Sound Effects Used
- Anime Body Fall Sound 19 (Heard once in one of the outtakes.)
- Hollywoodedge, Boing Wood Twang CRT016301
- Hollywoodedge, Bounce Boing Drum CRT016901/Sound Ideas, BOINK, CARTOON - TIMP DOINK (Heard once in Bowser Jr.'s trophy celebration cutscene.)
- Hollywoodedge, Comedy Body Fall Msx CRT017301
- Hollywoodedge, Quick Whistle Zip By CRT057503 (Heard once in the intro.)
- Hollywoodedge, Rough Metallic Scra CRT017402 (Used in Wario's special move.)
- Hollywoodedge, Several Rapid Swish CRT054101
- MP Pipe Appear Sound
- Sound Ideas, BOING, CARTOON - BIG, LONG BOING
- Sound Ideas, BOING, CARTOON - RIPPLE BOING
- Sound Ideas, BOING, CARTOON - SPROING 01
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, HIT - BIG METALLIC HEAD HIT (Heard in Wario's special move.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, POP - LITTLE POP
- Sound Ideas, CRASH, CARTOON - WOOD AND CYMBAL CRASH, MUSIC, PERCUSSION, DRUMS (Heard in a blooper/outtake.)
- Sound Ideas, DOG, ROTTWEILER - MEDIUM DOG, BARKING, ANIMAL
- Sound Ideas, HIT, CARTOON - ZIP AND HEAVY THUMP (Heard in Wario's special move.)
- Sound Ideas, MAGIC - MAGIC ZAP
- Sound Ideas, RUN, CARTOON - TEMPLE BLOCK GALLOP, SHORT
- Sound Ideas, SIREN - SIREN, POLICE, AMBULANCE, FIRE TRUCK 01
- Sound Ideas, STRETCH, CARTOON - RUBBER STRETCH, SHORT 01 (Heard in Yoshi's trophy celebration.)
- Sound Ideas, TAKE, CARTOON - WHISTLE TAKE (Used once in the intro.)
- Sound Ideas, VACUUM, CENTRAL - CARPET BEATER ATTACHMENT: ON, RUN, STOP; CONSTANT (Used for the Poltergust 3000 for Luigi's defensive power shot.)
- Sound Ideas, ZIP, CARTOON - BIG WHISTLE ZING OUT (Heard once in the intro.)
- Sound Ideas, ZIP, CARTOON - COWBELL ZIP (Heard in Wario's special move.)